Preparing Teacher-Scholars to Inquire

2017 ◽  
pp. 227-237
Author(s):  
Erik Jon Byker ◽  
Heather Coffey ◽  
Susan B. Harden ◽  
Amy J. Good ◽  
Katie E. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
College Of Education ◽  
First Year ◽  
Effective Teacher ◽  
Inquiry Process ◽  
Limited Experience ◽  
Processing Cycle

Whether it is in the sciences or humanities, inquiry is a valued pedagogy for teaching and learning. Teacher candidates often enter into their teacher preparations programs with limited experience and understanding of the process of inquiry. The chapter's purpose is to introduce and discuss the Inquiry Processing Cycle, which is a theoretical model for engaging in inquiry. The chapter explains how the Inquiry Processing Cycle emerged from Grounded Theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) from an on-going qualitative study of first-year undergraduate students (n=110) in a College of Education first-year class called Prepared for Success. The study found that the participants perceived that the process of inquiry was a fundamental part of being a successful college student as well as being an effective teacher. Yet, the participants were unclear about how to actually proceed with an inquiry. From these findings, the chapter illustrates how to engage in the inquiry process using the Inquiry Processing Cycle.

scholarly journals A virtual alternative to molecular model sets: a beginners’ guide to constructing and visualizing molecules in open-source molecular graphics software

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Siripreeya Phankingthongkum ◽  
Taweetham Limpanuparb
Keyword(s):  
General Chemistry ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Molecular Model ◽  
Bond Line ◽  
First Year ◽  
Molecular Graphics ◽  
Model Sets ◽  
Graphics Software

Abstract Objective The application of molecular graphics software as a simple and free alternative to molecular model sets for introductory-level chemistry learners is presented. Results Based on either Avogadro or IQmol, we proposed four sets of tasks for students, building basic molecular geometries, visualizing orbitals and densities, predicting polarity of molecules and matching 3D structures with bond-line structures. These topics are typically covered in general chemistry for first-year undergraduate students. Detailed step-by-step procedures are provided for all tasks for both programs so that instructors and students can adopt one of the two programs in their teaching and learning as an alternative to molecular model sets.

Enhancing Student Engagement Using a Blended Learning Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 51-68
Author(s):  
M. Mahruf C. Shohel ◽  
Rosemary Cann ◽  
Stephen Atherton
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Blended Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
First Year ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Action Research Cycles

Student engagement is the core of the teaching and learning practice in higher education. This exploratory action research project was designed to enhance teaching and learning using a blended learning approach to increase student engagement prior, during, and after lecture and seminar sessions of a module run for first-year undergraduate students. Within an academic semester, three action research cycles were carried out to collect data and redesign the classroom practice. Different data collection techniques were used along with Microsoft OneNote Class Notebook. This article presents three case studies of individual students to demonstrate how the digital workspace helped to develop the practice of participatory teaching and learning during a first-year undergraduate module. This study indicates that listening to students' voices through a blended learning approach helped to increase student engagement, thus increasing student participation in shaping and redesigning teaching and learning to engage them within the classroom and beyond.

Assessing Experience

2016 ◽  
pp. 1229-1248
Author(s):  
Erik Jon Byker
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Skill Development ◽  
Effective Teacher ◽  
Experiential Learning Theory ◽  
Professional Dispositions ◽  
Performance Based Assessment ◽  
Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory ◽  
A Performance

Performance-based assessments are more than just skill development. They are part of evaluating relevant experiences that lead to the maturation of professional dispositions. A goal of performance-based assessment is that as learners—such as teacher candidates—meet the challenges of a performance-based assessment they become deeply cognizant and metacognitive of the level of commitment it takes to be an effective teacher. This chapter argues that at its core performance-based assessment is experiential learning. The chapter reports and compares the findings from two case studies in order to develop a theoretical model for a performance-based assessment of experiential learning. The model, called the Performance-Based Assessment Cycle, weds David Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory with features of performance-based assessment. The Performance-Based Assessment Cycle is centered on the development of evaluating relevant experiences through a process of doing, concluding, connecting, and renewing.

Using the WebQuest Approach to Elicit Student Engagement in a University Course

2018 ◽  
pp. 454-478
Author(s):  
Stephen Asunka
Keyword(s):  
Student Engagement ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
First Year ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Student Activities ◽  
Student Grades ◽  
University Course

Following a realization that first year undergraduate students at a private university in Ghana engaged very minimally in their learning processes, and consequently obtained very weak grades in their courses, this study adopted a qualitative research approach to investigate whether the integration of a WebQuest into the learning processes can help foster student engagement through interactivity, and thus improve learning outcomes. Five students and one instructor participated in the study, and over the course of one academic semester, teaching and learning processes were varied by introducing WebQuest-based learning. Data were gathered by observing student activities as they engaged in the learning processes, and also assessing student learning and satisfaction by looking at student grades and also administering a survey questionnaire to students. Findings indicate that educational technologies such as the WebQuest can potentially foster student engagement in learning and also help improve learning outcomes. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Assessing Experience

2016 ◽  
pp. 261-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Jon Byker
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Skill Development ◽  
Effective Teacher ◽  
Experiential Learning Theory ◽  
Professional Dispositions ◽  
Performance Based Assessment ◽  
Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory ◽  
A Performance

Performance-based assessments are more than just skill development. They are part of evaluating relevant experiences that lead to the maturation of professional dispositions. A goal of performance-based assessment is that as learners—such as teacher candidates—meet the challenges of a performance-based assessment they become deeply cognizant and metacognitive of the level of commitment it takes to be an effective teacher. This chapter argues that at its core performance-based assessment is experiential learning. The chapter reports and compares the findings from two case studies in order to develop a theoretical model for a performance-based assessment of experiential learning. The model, called the Performance-Based Assessment Cycle, weds David Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory with features of performance-based assessment. The Performance-Based Assessment Cycle is centered on the development of evaluating relevant experiences through a process of doing, concluding, connecting, and renewing.

A novel social constructivist pedagogy to teach basic electrical engineering course to undergraduate students in online mode

2021 ◽  
pp. 002072092199974
Author(s):  
Srikanth Allamsetty ◽  
MVSS Chandra ◽  
Chinmoy Kumar Panigrahi
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teacher Practices ◽  
Electrical Engineering ◽  
Social Constructivist ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
First Year ◽  
Online Mode ◽  
The Social ◽  
Teachers And Students

The way the teachers deliver the content of any course curriculum is always important. It must create enough interest in the students, especially, when it is in the online mode. In this paper, a novel pedagogy has been proposed, which can work for both online and offline classes based on the social constructivist methods. The methods followed in the proposed pedagogy are classified into two types, viz. social examples and technical drama. One of the courses of first-year engineering undergraduates, Basic Electrical Engineering (BEE), has been taken into consideration for the practical implementation of this pedagogy. A detailed explanation of the above mentioned two methods has been presented in this paper as teaching experiments (TE), with the support of different topics of the course considered. The teachers of the courses such as BEE can follow the methods described in this paper to facilitate active learning, leading to a good understanding of the concepts. The methods have been designed such as to make both teachers and students active participants in the process of teaching and learning in both online and offline classrooms. Students are well satisfied with this novel pedagogy and it is reflected in their feedback on teacher practices as well as in their performance in the semester examinations.

Thinking outside the box: a critical literacy collaborative

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 264-271
Author(s):  
Vivian Bynoe ◽  
Anne Katz
Keyword(s):  
Critical Literacy ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
College Of Education ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cultural Perspectives ◽  
Literacy Collaborative ◽  
The One

PurposeThis paper aims to discuss the practical application of critical librarianship through a critical literacy framework using a Teaching and Learning Grant. The purpose of this project was to provide teacher candidates in The College of Education at Georgia Southern University-Armstrong Campus, with tools to understand and practice reading through the lens of critical literacy. The project also serves as an example of how an instruction librarian can work with students outside of the traditional one-shot instruction session.Design/methodology/approachStudents in the Fall 2016 section of EDUC 2120, Exploring Socio-Cultural Perspectives on Diversity in Educational Contexts were introduced to the concept of critical literacy and participated in a series of interactive faculty-facilitated small group discussions with the librarian and College of Education faculty. They concentrated on an analysis of Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah (2008).FindingsStudents provided positive feedback after the project. Many stated that they learned a great deal about the reading process in general and how to read from a critical literacy perspective. Students also stated that they began to think about looking more critically at information in general. Additionally, these pre-service educators now have more tools to use to help their future students become critical thinkers who can read their world for deeper meanings and understandings.Originality/valueThis project fills a need to help college students understand how to use critical literacy skills and become critical consumers of information. The initiative also fostered meaningful collaboration between a Reference and Instruction Librarian and colleagues in the College of Education while expanding on the one-shot instruction technique.

scholarly journals The undergraduate students’ beliefs about English language learning; a survey study in Madurese context

LEKSIKA ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 60
Author(s):  
Fithriyah Rahmawati
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Style ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
First Year ◽  
English Language Learning ◽  
Learning Program ◽  
Beliefs About Language Learning

The discussion in line with students’ beliefs about language learning is still popular nowadays since it is believed that the student’s beliefs may influence the language learning process, such as motivation, learning style, and strategies, etc. which later ultimately affected the success of language learning. This study was conducted to investigate how students of the English program at IAIN Madura (State Islamic Institute of Madura), Indonesia, express their beliefs about English language learning. This study was implemented in terms of survey study in which the data was primarily gathered by administering the questionnaire entitled Beliefs About Language learning Inventory (BALLI) of Horwitz’s (1987). The questionnaires were administered to students of English teaching and learning program through Google form. About 144 undergraduate students in the first year have participated in this study.  The finding revealed the students’ beliefs in terms of percentage of agreements in all area of BALLI, namely language aptitude, the strategy of learning and communication, the nature of learning language, motivation and expectation in learning, and the difficulty faced by students

Using the WebQuest Approach to Elicit Student Engagement in a University Course

2016 ◽  
pp. 304-326
Author(s):  
Stephen Asunka
Keyword(s):  
Student Engagement ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
First Year ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Student Activities ◽  
Student Grades ◽  
University Course

Following a realization that first year undergraduate students at a private university in Ghana engaged very minimally in their learning processes, and consequently obtained very weak grades in their courses, this study adopted a qualitative research approach to investigate whether the integration of a WebQuest into the learning processes can help foster student engagement through interactivity, and thus improve learning outcomes. Five students and one instructor participated in the study, and over the course of one academic semester, teaching and learning processes were varied by introducing WebQuest-based learning. Data were gathered by observing student activities as they engaged in the learning processes, and also assessing student learning and satisfaction by looking at student grades and also administering a survey questionnaire to students. Findings indicate that educational technologies such as the WebQuest can potentially foster student engagement in learning and also help improve learning outcomes. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Blogging for Effective Teacher Education Course in English as a Second Language

2010 ◽  
pp. 41-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis Bangou ◽  
Douglas Fleming
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Effective Teacher ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Democratic Spaces ◽  
Technological Integration

Two years ago, as teacher educators, the authors decided to integrate the use of blogs into their practice in order to contribute to the development of an understanding of the knowledge base related to the processes of teaching and learning English as a Second Language (ESL) and provide their teacher candidates with a space to critically reflect collectively and individually on course content. In this chapter, the authors use discourse analysis (Johnston, 2008) of semi-structured interviews conducted with these teacher candidates to explore how they use and perceive blogs within a course specifically focused on ESL teaching methods. This allows the authors to problematize the notion of technological integration in teaching and learning and complexify the notion of blogs as democratic spaces (Kuzu, 2007). On the basis of this analysis, the authors formulate four recommendations to guide teacher educators who are working in similar contexts.

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